Phantom of the Oak Tree
by Robika
Summary: AU Story of two girls out camping, they meet a stranger in the night, love triangle story ensues! Rated T
1. The Enchanted Violin

**Hola mis amigas! This is my first long phic (if I can figure out how to do chapters) and I hope you enjoy! Please review!**

**P.S. I don't own Phantom of the Opera in any language, size, shape, or form. **

The Phantom of the Oak Tree

Somewhere in the golden hills of California, two girls lay on a picnic blanket, enjoying the shade of an ancient oak tree. Beside them lay a blue backpack full of camping supplies and food. There also on the blanket lay an oddly-shaped carrying case – a guitar case.

The shorter of the two girls lay on her back in a pair of jeans and a green shirt with the words "Think of Me" written on it. Her clothes fit loosely, perfect for climbing the oaks that scattered the hills. Her golden brown hair was splayed out like a cloud about her face. The taller girl, also in jeans, wore a knitted heather gray tunic and a belt around her waist. Her hair was a bright blonde with a few dark streaks in it.

Both girls were asleep, sleeping off their picnic meal. The sun had begun its descent even before they arrived, and it was very near the horizon. No one else was on the trails that scarred this mountain. They were the only people left.

The shorter girl dreamed she was in a snowy graveyard, singing to a violin's call. She often had dreams about _The Phantom of the Opera_, and this was no different. In her dreams, she could sing as well as her friend who lay asleep next to her, and oh, did she sing. 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' burst from her lips as she echoed the violin's melody. Then the violin began a different melody, changing key. The girl twitched in her sleep and woke up.

After the girl had gotten over the initial disappointment that it was only a dream, she sat up, listening. The violin was still playing! Was she still dreaming? No, this was real; she could feel her heart beating rapidly. Quietly, she leaned over and shook her friend's shoulder. "Katie," she whispered. "Katie, wake up."

Groggily, Katie sat up, blinking her eyes against the last foe dying rays of sun. "Wow, we fell asleep. What time do you think it is? The sun's just set. Why did you wake --" she stopped talking. "Sophie, do you hear that? It sounds like a violin."

Sophie nodded, standing up silently. "Let's go see," she whispered, picking up her guitar case and backpack as she tried to pinpoint the direction the sound was coming from. Katie rolled up the picnic blanket and began walking slowly towards the sound of the violin.

Sophie paused a moment, remembering something she read in a book once. "Katie, wait. Stagger your steps so whoever's playing won't know we're coming."

Katie nodded. She shuffled her feet, paused, took two steps, paused, and took three steps, shuffled, and so on. Sophie did the same. She wasn't sure if it was her idea that kept the violinist from hearing them, or if whoever was playing was so focused on making music that they didn't notice.

Several minutes passed in which the two girls did this random walk-shuffling. Eventually they came across a silhouetted figure sitting in the crook of two tree branches, playing a violin. Sophie could only see the figure through a large bush, so she crouched down to remain hidden. Katie did the same.

They stay like this for some time, enjoying an incredible rendition of 'Wandering Child.' Then Sophie realized her foot had fallen asleep from crouching so long. She tried to ease herself to a sitting position, but her foot slipped out from under her and she fell to the ground with a loud rustling of dry grasses and leaves. Katie looked over at her in irritation as the violinist froze.

Sophie blushed in embarrassment, but the light was too dim for anyone to see. She nudged Katie as if to tell her to do something. Katie nodded and rose from the bush, singing, "Angel or father, friend or phantom? Who is it there, staring?"


	2. Stranger in the Night

**Hey! Thanks for the review, Chocolate-Pringles, I'm happy that you're excited for my phic. To those of you who didn't review, that's fine too! Here's a very short chapter for you to read if you want. If there are grammatical errors, I'm terribly sorry, I did try to get them all out. Well, here it is!**

A pause. A heartbeat-skipping, breath-taking, time-stopping pause. "H-have you f-forgotten your angel?" came the soft and slightly stuttered reply.

_What a sweet voice he has_, Sophie thought. She stood, staggering slightly on her sleeping foot. She inhaled sharply, stomach churning with the beginnings of a great adventure.

Katie continued singing, "Angel, oh speak; what endless…" she stopped, grinning. "Well, I guess the rest doesn't apply here."

Another pause. Sophie walked forward so she was next to Katie. Her eyes strained to see the stranger before them.

"How did you find me?" the young man asked.

"We heard your violin. We came to investigate," Sophie replied.

"What were you doing?"

"We were camping. We fell asleep and when we woke, you were playing," Katie said.

"I've never been found before," the voice had a musing tone to it.

"What are you doing here?" Katie asked.

The stranger didn't say anything for a while. Instead he jumped down from the tree and set his violin in its case, snapping the clasps shut. Then he regarded the two girls in the dying light before climbing back into the tree and settling himself to sleep.

The two girls stood there as the sun set. Sophie didn't know how long they stood there. She cleared her throat and asked, "Should we go?"

"No," was the fervent reply.

The girls looked at each other, but it was too dark for them to see one another. Silently, they spread out the picnic blanket and Sophie produced another from her backpack to cover themselves with. Sophie leaned over to Katie and whispered, "Do you think we're safe with him?"

Katie whispered back, "If he does anything, you know where to kick," and turned over. Sophie grinned to herself and was reassured. Katie could get her way with any guy. She fell asleep and dreamed.

Sophie was wandering through a labyrinth of dark and damp tunnels. When she got to the end, she found herself in a large cavern. In the cavern, there was a hooded figure. The figure spoke. It said –

"My name is Aiden," the stranger said from the tree.


	3. An Awkward Breakfast

**Yay! I got two reviews that time! I'm glad you guys are liking my phic. The chapter length is going to vary a lot, and I'm sorry if I end on cliffhangers, but I'm going to have to if the chapter gets too long. Here's chapter three, hope you like it**

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Sophie awoke because of the hot breath that was blown in her face. She kept her eyes closed. It was one of her cats, sleeping on her pillow with her. _That was a big breath for a cat_, the thought crossed her mind. Sophie felt a hand run along her jaw line. Definitely not one of her cats. Sophie opened her eyes. A figure loomed over her. The strange boy – Aiden. Sophie's mind stopped processing thoughts. She couldn't think of what to do. Then it came to her. She took a deep breath and prepared to scream – but a hand roughly covered her mouth. Aiden leaned closely to her ear, "Don't wake the other girl. Can I have one of the apples in your pack?"

Sophie pushed the hand off of her mouth as her eyes adjusted to the dim morning light. "I… I suppose," she whispered, wriggling uncomfortably under the scrutiny of Aiden's gaze. She had many questions for this boy. How long had he been here? What did he eat? Why was he here? Why was she so nervous around him?

But Aiden had risen before Sophie had summoned the courage to ask any of these questions out loud. She shifted under the blanket. Was she such a heavy sleeper that she didn't notice him upon her? The thought made her squirm. _This guy gives me the creeps_, she thought, making a list of misgivings in her head.

Sophie heard Aiden bite into an apple and saw Katie stir as the sound woke her. It was considerably lighter now than when Sophie first woke up. She curled herself into a little ball as Katie yanked off the covers.

"Get up, Sophie. Put on a sweatshirt, it's cold out this early," Sophie heard as a cloth bundle was flung in her face. She covered a whimper of dread for having to face a day with Aiden with a false groan of sleepiness.

Katie giggled at the sound. "Come on. I want to find out about this guy," she said, looking in his direction as she pulled on some shoes. Aiden was sitting on a large rock about 10 yards away, chewing his apple. Sophie rose, quickly pulling the sweatshirt over her head to block the early morning chill. Katie pulled two more apples out of the backpack, tossed one to Sophie, and beckoned her to follow her over to where Aiden was sitting. Sophie put her shoes on and followed Katie.

Katie sat down on the rock next to Aiden, and Sophie stood before them. They were silent, except for the munching and crunching of apple in their mouths... Aiden was almost finished with his; whereas Sophie was so nervous she had only taken a few bites. Both she and Katie were staring at Aiden intently, but on the contrary Aiden was focusing on biting off every scrap of edible flesh from the core of his apple.

When Aiden finished his apple, he sat on the rock silently while the girls finished their breakfasts. Katie finally spoke, "Judging by the fact that you haven't gotten up yet, you're just as curious about us as we are about you." Silence. "My name is Katie, and this is Sophie." Still no response from Aiden.

Sophie shifted her weight to her other foot. Didn't Katie see how much pressure she was putting on this guy? "Katie…"  
she said in a low voice. "Don't push it." She didn't want anything to do with this stranger. Who knew what he was capable of? She could see the toned muscle beneath his black T-shirt and she could guess correctly that he was very lithe and strong from climbing trees. She noticed the callous on his jaw bone where he rested his chin on his violin. She wondered is the mass of curly brown hair on top of his head was soft to the touch. Sophie blinked, clearing her head of these thoughts. She knew nothing of this boy! He could have killed someone, for all she knew!

Katie dismissed Sophie's warning with a flick of her wrist. "Come on, Aiden. What did you mean by 'No one's found me before'? Why were you in the tree? Why'd you sleep in it? Do you live in that oak tree? Why? What's the story here?" as Katie fired these questions at Aiden, Sophie felt a twinge of pity for the young man being put on the spot like this.

Aiden contemplated his apple core before tossing it away. Sophie admired the fine muscles in his arm. Catching herself, she turned her thoughts to Aiden's mysterious past. Aiden fidgeted a bit, and then muttered, "If I tell you, you'll just go and tell everyone I'm here and they'll make me go back."

Katie exclaimed, "No we won't!" at the same time Sophie asked, "Go back where?"

Sophie caught the small and slightly lopsided grin that flashed across Aiden's face. She also caught the confused and nervous way his almond-shaped brown eyes viewed the situation. _I suppose he's enjoying all the attention_, Sophie thought. _But he's also still nervous about being found out._

Aiden said slowly, "How do I know I can trust you?"

Katie stood up with her hands on her hips and said indignantly, "Well this camping trip isn't over until you tell us what's going on." And with that, she flounced off hack to the oak tree, throwing her apple core as far as she could as she went.

As Aiden stared after her, Sophie wondered what he was thinking about. She didn't know whether she should follow Katie or stay with Aiden. Then Aiden got up without a word and began walking in the opposite direction of the oak tree. Sophie kept standing there until he was out of sight and then she started jogging back to the oak tree to tell Katie that Aiden had left.

Sophie found Katie attempting to climb the oak tree. "What are you doing?" Sophie asked.

"I'm trying to see if there's stuff up here that will tell us about our mysterious friend here."

"Well speaking of Aiden, he just left."

"What! No, don't be silly, Sophie. He probably just went to the bathroom or something."

"There aren't any bathrooms around here."

"You know what I mean. For lack of a better word."

"I guess you're right," Sophie sighed.

""If course I'm right," Katie replied briskly. "Now look through his violin case and see is there are any clues in there."

Sophie obliged, opening the violin case and carefully lifting out its precious cargo. She put it to her chin and plucked the strings. "How does he make this sound so good?" she muttered to herself. "Guitar is much easier."


	4. Second Guesses

Several minutes passed while Sophie rummaged through the violin case. All she found was some rosin, a cloth, and a spare bow. She closed the case and stood up, stretching. "Katie? I don't think he's coming back."

"Nonsense," Katie replied. "He left his violin here."

"Well, he's pretty sneaky; he could come by at night and pick it up."

Katie jumped down from the tree, wiping her dusty hands on her pants. "Then let's go find him," she decided. "Which way did he go?"

Sophie reluctantly started walking in the direction she saw Aiden walk off. In her mind, they were much better off far, far away from Aiden. But Katie was the leader of the two girls, so Sophie went along with her decisions.

They walked for some time, never once coming across a hiking trail. Sophie had just begun to doubt that they were heading in the right direction when they passed over a small knoll and came upon a lake. They saw a wet glob of brown hair pop up above the water.

Katie gasped upon seeing the lake and immediately began jogging down towards it. Sophie followed, and noted a pile of clothes at the edge of the water with a blush. "So this is where you went off to," Katie called as she saw Aiden's head come above the surface.

Aiden turned his head at the sound of Katie's voice and disappeared underwater at once.

Sophie grinned, "He must be embarrassed."

Katie nodded, "But surely he didn't think we'd just sit around and wait for him to come back."

"Maybe he thought that if he was gone long enough, we'd give up and go home," Sophie shrugged.

Katie sniffed, "He obviously doesn't know us very well if he thinks that."

"We don't know him at all, either," Sophie pointed out.

"You're right. I still want to find out about him."

"But didn't he say he didn't trust us enough to tell us anything?"

"Yes. So we need to win his trust. Come on," Katie said as she began rolling her jeans up past her knees and kicking off her shoes.

Sophie followed her examples halfheartedly. _He's going to have to earn my trust first_, she thought firmly.

Aiden appeared again, closer to the girls than before. His chest was above the water too, and he was close enough to talk in a normal voice. "What are you doing here?" he asked cautiously.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Katie said with a flirtatious swing of her hips.

Aiden gave no acknowledgement of the suggestive movement and replied, "That's why I asked."

Sophie began to wonder if Aiden was slightly autistic. _No, _she answered herself. _Autistic kids usually have short attention spans and little imagination; he can't be that good at violin is he's autistic._

"We just wanted to spend some time with you, get to know you better and stuff," Katie said.

_Speak for yourself,_ Sophie thought bitterly.

Aiden shifted uncomfortably, "I already told you, I'm not talking about it."

Katie laughed, a little too superficially for Sophie's liking, and replied, "That's not what I said; I just want to be friends. Is that too much to ask?"

Aiden didn't reply for a minute. He continued to stand in the water, watching Katie and Sophie wade into the lake. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

Katie had a sultry smirk on her face when she replied, "Don't you want to have some fun?" She splashed him playfully.

Aiden put up a hand to block the splash. Wiping his eyes, he answered, "I'm not entirely comfortable with this."

Sophie looked away when she guessed why. _I don't blame him_, she thought. "Come on, Katie. Give him some privacy."

"Oh. Right," Katie's eyes flickered with understanding as they met Aiden's.

Aiden broke away his gaze, "If you wouldn't mind, please."

Sophie marched out of the water and turned her back on the lake. She had no desire to see what was behind her. Katie soon appeared at her side, stifling a giggle. Sophie heard a bit of splashing and then the soft rustle of clothes being put on.

After a minute, Aiden said, "Okay."

Sophie and Katie turned around. Aiden now had his dark khaki pants on. Katie walked up to Aiden. "Now we can have some fun!" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder as she steered him toward the water.

Aiden shied away from her touch, but said nothing.

Sophie mentally put up a tally mark supporting the theory that Aiden was autistic. Autistic children usually do not like being touched. She ran down into the water and splashed through until the water was past her waist. "Brrr! It's cold!" she exclaimed.

Aiden walked in without so much as a flinch, "Just do a few laps and you'll warm up."

Katie followed him in, taking slow steps as she adjusted to the temperature of the water. "You must be quite the swimmer," she praised.

Sophie admired his strong shoulders and arms as he waded by her. For some bizarre reason, Sophie wanted to appear just as playful as Katie, so she began pelting Aiden with a series of splashes.

Aiden sputtered, but Sophie thought she heard a laugh over the splashing. A hand caught hers. Aiden had grabbed her hand to stop the splashing, his powerful muscles preventing her from moving her hand.

Fear flooded Sophie. What was she thinking? She had read a book about an autistic boy, and he was quick to do violent acts when provoked. Sophie stared up into Aiden's dark and mysterious eyes, stomach knotting in preparation for the worst.

But all that changed the second she saw the lopsided grin break out on his face. A huge wave hit her. The force of it knocked her underwater. She stayed underwater as she grinned, thinking about how endearing Aiden looked with that lopsided grin of his. For in that moment of bliss, Sophie's life goal changed from being a famous musician to making Aiden smile. Sophie blinked, bringing herself back to reality. _So he's cute,_ she thought. _I still don't know him very well. I can't judge him based on his looks. He's still really creepy._

A hand wrapped around Sophie's waist and her head was brought above the surface of the water. Aiden adjusted her so he was practically carrying her. He had a furrowed brow and an intense gaze as he lifted her. "Don't frown," Sophie said, blinking the water out of her eyes and looking up at him.

The look of consternation on Aiden's face faded into one of relief. "You're okay!" he said, letting go of her. "I thought I had splashed you too hard when you didn't come up again."

Sophie blushed. _He was concerned for me_, she thought. _Maybe I was wrong about him._ "I'm fine. I thought I had pestered you too much when you stopped my hand."

Just then Katie splashed them both with a huge wave. The three began the largest splash war ever, laughing and diving underwater to protect themselves. Shouts of protest were issued and muted by waves. Sometimes two of them formed an alliance to soak the other, but these treaties always ended in betrayal and more splashing.

Sophie's doubts about Aiden began to fade as they wrestled and splashed each other. She laughed as Aiden shook his head free of water, causing his hair to poof out. "You think that's funny?" he splashed her.

"You should look at yourself!" Sophie snorted.

Aiden took a handful of Sophie's long brown hair and tried to make it stand up too.

Sophie giggled, pushing him away. "It won't work on me, just you," she said, adding a splash to make her point.

Katie grinned, "You're right, Sophie. He looks like a clown."

Aiden pretended to pout, turning his back on the girls and burying his face in his hands. "You're a meanie!" he said in a false juvenile voice.

Katie grinned, "Aw, there there." She splashed his back. Aiden turned around and sent a huge wave in the girls' direction. Sophie stared at his lopsided grin as the wave hit her.

Aiden saw Sophie staring at him, "Do I really look that weird?" he asked, feeling his hair.

Sophie caught herself and nodded, "Yup."

Katie yawned, "I'm tired. I'm going to dry off. Don't you dare go back to the oak tree for at least ten minutes. I'd murder you only after I ripped you eyes out and cut off your limbs." Katie waded out of the lake, pulled her shoes on, and walked up the knoll to the oak tree.

Aiden called after her, "Don't worry about us!"

Sophie waded to the shore and sat down, wringing out the bottom of her shirt. "This water is freezing, but you're right; we did warm up after a while." _Warmed up to each other, too,_ she added in her head.

Aiden sat down beside her, "Was it you or Katie who sang last night?"

"That was Katie. She sings, I play guitar. I loved your violin playing, by the way."

Aiden grinned, "Thanks. We should play a duet together sometime."

Sophie replied, "I could play chords and you could make something up, or something like that."

"Chords sound so hard. Violin's way easier."

"Nuh-uh! On guitar, there're frets, so you're always right on pitch. Chords are simple."

"Too many strings on guitar. I couldn't keep up with it."

Sophie didn't reply, she was watching Aiden's face. Aiden caught her staring and looked confused, "Is my hair still being all weird? Stop staring!" he pressed his palms on his head, covering his hair.

Sophie laughed, "No, I like your hair! It's drying now."

"Yours is too, it's getting all frizzy."

Sophie gave a mock cry of alarm, "No!" she combed her hair with her fingers, ducking as Aiden tried to mess it up again.

Aiden laughed, "Girls care so much about their hair. You look fine, really."

"Thanks," Sophie replied, grinning up at Aiden.

Aiden smiled back, and Sophie's heart was warmed. _He's so cute!_ Sophie exclaimed in her mind. _I wonder if he likes me._ Then Aiden looked out at the lake and his eyes unfocused, he was deep in thought. Sophie was deep in thought, too, wondering what Aiden was thinking. _He's so mysterious. I wish I could get to know him better._ After a few minutes, Aiden turned back to Sophie, "Do you think it's been ten minutes? I'm getting cold." He stood and picked up his shirt. "Let's go back," he said.

Sophie said, "Okay," and pulled on her shoes.

"I'll race you," Aiden said, running up the hill to the oak tree.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sophie yelled, in hot pursuit.


	5. Some Poetry

**Chapter Five, people! I don't own Phantom of the Opera, but I do own Sophie's poem so please don't scam it off of me! Review pwease!**

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When they got back to the oak tree, they found Katie lounging on the picnic blanket, listening to music on her iPod. Aiden got down on the blanket and rolled over on his stomach, rummaging through Sophie's backpack for more food. "Hey! I've got stuff in there!" Sophie said, going over and snatching her bag away from him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm seeing if you have any food I can eat," he said simply.

"Fine, you can have a bag of trail mix," Sophie said, handing him a plastic bag.

Aiden took the bag and began eating its contents, watching Sophie pull out various clothing articles from her bag. "Can I borrow a towel?" he asked, eyeing one in the bag.

"Sure. Here," Sophie said, handing him a folded light green towel.

Aiden took the towel, set down his trail mix, and set the towel down too. He got up and climbed up the tree, throwing down a backpack of his own and returning to the ground. He pulled out a fresh pair of pants, a red shirt, and a pair of gray boxers. Then he collected the towel and walked off to change his clothes in private.

"Katie," Sophie said. "Katie, turn your music off."

Katie obliged, pulling the earphones out of her ears. "What?" she asked.

"Keep watch for me, will you? I need to change and Aiden just ran off again."

Katie turned herself away to stare out across the fields of dry grass and scattered oaks. Sophie changed as quickly as she could. Then she hung her towel over a low branch to dry. She returned to the blanket and pulled out a bag of trail mix for herself. Katie turned back, "Hand me something to eat."

Sophie tossed a banana to Katie and the girls sat, eating their lunch as Aiden returned to the scene. Aiden hung his towel and wet clothes next to Sophie's things on the branch before walking to the picnic blanket to sit down with the girls. He grabbed his bag of trail mix and began shoveling handfuls in his mouth. He pulled his backpack over to himself and took out a small spiral-bound notebook and a pencil. Opening the notebook to a new page, Aiden began writing.

Sophie was interested in what Aiden was writing, but she didn't press the matter. She took her time eating, looking out at the beautiful fields of golden grass and spattered oaks. Being in nature always spurred her poetic side. She decided to write a poem. Sophie leaned over and got out a pad of paper for herself to write on, and quickly became absorbed in writing.

Katie turned her music back on now that everyone was decent. She lay back on the blanket, eyes shut. Her legs were crossed and her right foot was moving to the beat of her music. She silently mouthed the lyrics to the song.

Sophie reread the stanza she had written. It was alright, but not her greatest work. She couldn't concentrate much longer. True, she loved poetry, but she was curious as to what Aiden was writing. Putting her poem away, she scooted over to Aiden. "Whatcha writing?" she asked, trying to read it.

Aiden pulled his journal to his chest, covering the words, "My journal. My _private _journal."

Sophie murmured an "Oh…" and backed off. _I wonder if he's writing about me in that journal of his_, she thought as she stood and walked over to her guitar case. She opened the case and took her guitar out, putting the strap over neck and tuning the strings as she walked to the rock to play. Sophie played a quick chord progression to warm up and a few scales. Then she glanced over at Katie and Aiden, neither of whom had moved since she got up. Sophie began playing a soft melody she had picked up from some song or another. She hummed along, lost in her own little world. She faintly wondered why Aiden didn't join in on his violin, but she couldn't be bothered with such thoughts. Her finger slipped to the wrong string and the chord she was trying to play came out very dissonant. She quickly silenced the strings, looking up again in embarrassment to see if either Aiden or Katie had caught her mistake. Neither of them looked very interested in her playing, so she shrugged it off, moving her hand up the neck of the guitar and improvising on the C pentatonic scale.

Eventually, Sophie's mind began to wander off playing her guitar. She grew bored and decided to stop. Her fingers hurt a bit. She contemplated her calloused fingers as she walked back to put her guitar away. She wondered what to do, since both of her companions were preoccupied. She was tempted to bother Aiden and steal his journal so she could read it, but she was too nervous to do that. Sophie sat down next to her backpack, shuffling through its contents to see if there was anything in there interesting. She spotted the pad of paper she had been writing on earlier and decided to draw a picture.

She flipped to a fresh page and looked around for something to sketch. Sophie didn't usually draw things; it was a hobby she had long ago dropped. But in instances like these, she was glad she wasn't too bad at sketching. Sophie decided to draw Aiden, since she couldn't keep her eyes off of him anyway. She looked at his prominent and slightly crooked nose, lightly sketching its silhouette. She spent a lot of time on his profile, wanting to get every detail perfect. Since she was sketching just one side of his face, she didn't need to worry that much about symmetry, which was tough for her. She drew an eye, shading in the shadows around the mysteries it held. His eyebrow was a challenge; she couldn't get the position right because Aiden's expression changed every so often as he wrote.

It wasn't until Sophie had gotten to Aiden's mouth that he noticed she was staring at him. Aiden turned his head, frowning. "Why are you staring?" he asked pointedly.

Sophie blushed, even though she had a valid excuse. "I'm drawing you," she said, showing him the unfinished likeness. "What do you think?"

"I think it looks sort of like me," Aiden answered, studying the drawing.

Sophie laughed nervously. She couldn't tell if that was a compliment or not. "Now turn back away so I can finish," she said.

Aiden complied, turning the page in his journal to continue writing. Sophie looked at his lips, slightly parted. He didn't have full lips, but they weren't thin either. She did her best drawing them, not very satisfied with her work. She reassured herself that at least her drawing was recognizable as Aiden. "I'm finished; do you want to see?" Sophie asked Aiden, who looked up at her when she spoke.

"I guess," Aiden replied, shutting his journal and setting it down beside himself on the opposite side that Sophie was. He took the pad of paper proffered and examined the drawing. "Very nice," he said, lifting the page to see if there was anything else he could see. Coming across the unfinished poem Sophie had started earlier, he asked, "What's this?"

"It's a poem," Sophie answered blatantly.

Aiden read aloud,

"A lone leaf falls

Swirling towards the source

Of a violin's lonely calls

This acreage is cloaked in green

The sun's light among the trees

Causes a brilliant sheen."

He looked up at Sophie, "A violin, eh? Am I the violinist?"

Sophie grabbed the pad of paper away from him. "Maybe," she answered coquettishly.

Aiden showed no signs of being amused at this. He got up and walked over to the oak tree, climbing up into its strong branches. Sophie watched him go before putting the pad of paper away in her backpack. Katie began to stir, putting her headset away as well. "Aiden, where are you going? Come on back down, let's do something together," Katie said.

Aiden obliged, climbing back down. Sophie thought it a bit pointless and rather rude of Katie that he just climbed up and now he had to get back down again. Katie gestured for him to sit down with the girls on the blanket. "Aiden, we still don't know very much about you," Katie said.

Aiden didn't respond, he just sat there cross-legged facing Katie and Sophie, eyes downcast.

"Aiden, would you care to tell us about yourself?" Katie asked softly.

Sophie wondered vaguely if this was what group counseling was like.

Aiden spoke warily, "What do you want to know?"

"Why we found you in a tree," Katie replied.

"If I tell you, you'll make me go back," Aiden said.

Katie's eyes flashed with annoyance, "Aiden, we've spent the whole day together. You know you can trust us."

Aiden shook his head, "What do you care, anyway?"

Sophie's mind's eye pictured herself putting her hand on Aiden's shoulder and whispering, "I care about you, Aiden," but she resisted the temptation to do so.

Katie answered, "Don't you want to be friends, Aiden? Friends don't keep secrets from each other."

Aiden coughed, but said nothing. The three sat in silence for a few minutes. Sophie was extremely jittery; she was curious about Aiden's past, but she was also nervous about his odd behavior.

"Aiden?" Katie said quietly. "Aiden, don't you want to be friends?"

Aiden lay down on his stomach, burying his head under his hands. "Yes…" he mumbled.

"Well then why don't you tell us what's up?" Katie asked as soothingly as she could.

Aiden didn't respond.

"It seems we have a problem," Katie sighed, getting up. "Well Aiden, like I said, we're not leaving until we get an answer." She grabbed a book from Sophie's backpack and left for the lake.


	6. Found Out Again?

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**Chapter 6 is up! Please please please review! I have a bunch of ideas I want to try out, but it's so discouraging when no one reviews! **

**This is a short chapter. Review and I'll post the next one! **

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Sophie stared after Katie, thoughts racing through her head. "It wasn't fair of her to put you on the spot like that," she said to Aiden.

Aiden turned his head and looked at Sophie, "Are you mad at me?"

Sophie looked puzzled, "Why should I be mad at you?"

"Because I'm not answering your questions."

"I admit that I am curious, but if you don't want to tell us just yet, I'm content to wait," Sophie said.

Aiden rested his chin on his hands, "Oh."

The two were silent for a while. Then Sophie asked, "Do you want to get your violin out? We could play something together."

"No."

"Okay… What do you want to do then?"

Aiden was silent for a minute before responding, "I want Katie to not be mad at me anymore."

Sophie grinned, "Well, I'm afraid some things can't be helped."

The two were silent for a while and Katie came back. She ignored Aiden and said to Sophie, "Sophie, we should have brought more books, I've read this one three times now," Katie waved the book around. "I wish authors weren't so slow and would just hurry up with their sequels." Katie put the book back in Sophie's backpack.

The bark of a dog echoed across the field.

Aiden swore, getting up to his feet in a flash. "Someone's coming. I can't be found out by even more people," he said in a hushed voice.

Sophie stood too and grabbed her backpack. "Should we hide?" she asked Aiden.

Aiden nodded, picking up his violin case. Katie rolled up the picnic blanket and picked up Sophie's guitar. "Where?" she asked.

Aiden gestured to the oak tree, "We'll hide up there, and throw the stuff in that bush over there."

The girls complied, hurrying as fast as they could with their burdens to the bush they hid in last night and buried their possessions in it. Then they turned around and jogged back to the oak tree. "How high will we have to climb?" Sophie asked Aiden.

"As high as you can," he answered, walking towards the tree. "You go first," he said.

Katie began climbing, Sophie right behind her. Fear flooded Sophie; what if she couldn't climb fast or high enough? Aiden was strong, and helped push Sophie up to branches she otherwise couldn't reach. She suppressed her disgust at all the ants crawling on the tree as she climbed higher and higher. Katie was doing surprisingly well. She scooted out to the edge of a branch, leaving room for Sophie and Aiden to sit and wait until the dogs and their owners left. Sophie was the shortest of the three and couldn't reach the branch Katie was on. Katie put her hand out for Sophie to grab as Aiden gave her a boost from below. It was an odd sensation for Sophie; she was completely depending on Katie and Aiden for her wellbeing. Sophie grabbed hold of the branch, but she couldn't pull herself up to it. "Sophie, you went about it wrong. Let go and climb up a different way," Aiden whispered.

Sophie froze. Let go? She gulped.

"I'll catch you, don't worry."

"Can I trust you?"

"Do you have a choice?"

Sophie didn't dwell on that thought for long. She shut her eyes and let go of the branch.


	7. Scrapes and Wounded Pride

It felt like an eternity, even though it was only a second. Sophie fell through the air in a blur. She felt Aiden's strong hands around her waist, and her falling slowed down. She didn't stop all the way. Aiden's footing must not have been as reliable as he thought. He was slipping off the branch he was standing on. Sophie opened her eyes and angled her feet to straddle the branch Aiden had been on moments before. She landed heavily, letting out an involuntary "Oof!" as her butt was smashed against the branch. She clutched Aiden's hands in hers; they were slipping off her body. Aiden was going to fall to the ground if she didn't do something about it.

Sophie looked down at Aiden, his expression one of pure terror. "Aiden, I'll get you up here," she said, crossing her legs to steady herself against the tree as she leaned down. She tried to pull Aiden up to the branch, but he was too heavy for her alone.

Things looked pretty dim for a moment, Aiden hanging by Sophie's weak grasp. Then Katie to the rescue as she took one of Aiden's hands and heaved him up high enough so that he could hold on to the branch by himself. Katie and Sophie scrambled out of the way and up to the branch from which Katie came. Aiden did a pull-up and swung his legs onto the branch. He too climbed up to the branch to wait until the unwanted visitors left.

Sophie's butt was still smarting after the stunt with the tree branch, but her gladness that Aiden was alright lessened the pain. She was grateful for Katie for saving them both from being found out. Sophie could see the dogs below through the thick layers of leaves sniffing around the base of the trunk. She glanced at Aiden, who was examining his left arm. She saw a huge scratch on his forearm, and grimaced sympathetically. Aiden noticed her gesture and tried to shrug it off as nothing.

The three sat in silence until the intruders left. Then they made their way cautiously down to terra firma, on the look out in case the dogs and their owners returned. "Jeez, the stunts you two pulled today!" Katie scolded. "Aiden, I thought you were adept at climbing trees. And Sophie, didn't you see the way I climbed up to that branch? You were on the wrong side of the tree trunk."

Sophie and Aiden endured these remarks in a bitter silence. Sophie was still shaken about the whole fiasco, as she supposed Aiden to be as well. Aiden was the first to reach the ground, jumping from about seven feet up. Like a gentleman, he offered Sophie and Katie his hand to help them with the jump. Sophie blushed at his formality. She corrected herself, _No, he's only being nice. I'm not imagining things. He's not old-fashioned. Anything but._ Sophie was apprehensive about the cut on his arm, but he made no move to acknowledge that it caused him pain.

Once they were all back on the ground, Aiden immediately walked top the bush and extracted their belongings. He laid the blanket out and sat down on it. Katie caught him looking at his arm and approached him. "Aiden, are you okay? That's quite a gash you've got there. Let me see it." She sat down next to him and took his arm in her hands to inspect it closely. "It's going to get infected unless we clean it," she commented.

Aiden pulled his arm away from Katie, "What do you know about wounds?"

Sophie sat down on the other side of Aiden, "Her dad's a paramedic. He taught her a lot about first aid."

Aiden grudgingly held his arm out for Katie. "Sophie, get the first aid bag out of your backpack," Katie instructed. Sophie obliged, pulling out the contents of the bag. "Hand me a bandage." Sophie did so. Katie took it and pressed it to the slash on Aiden's arm, lifting his arm to his head level. "Hold this on your arm, it should stop the bleeding," Katie said. Once she had assured herself that he was doing it right, she leaned back. Then she noticed, "Oh Aiden, your shirt's stained. The blood must have dripped up _(A/N: Yes I do mean up; think about it, it dripped towards his shoulder, which is up)_your arm when you were hanging by the tree branch."

Aiden turned his head to look, "How can you tell? My shirt's red too."

"It's darker right there, plus there's blood all over your arm," Katie responded, dabbing a wet cloth on his arm to wipe the drying blood away. When she was finished, she said, "Now let's see if your cut stopped bleeding. Then we can clean it and put a bandage on it."

Aiden obediently removed the now blood-stained bandage and let Katie inspect his arm. Sophie leaned away, the sight of blood making her feel queasy and weak. Seeing as the bleeding had stopped, Katie grabbed a bottle of liquid and a cotton ball. "This is going to sting a lot, but it's not as bad as it could be," she warned Aiden as she put some of the clear liquid on the cotton ball.

Aiden watched warily, trying to feign impartiality. Sophie could see the nervous tinge about his features. She wished she could comfort him. Aiden grimaced as the antiseptic from the cotton ball came into contact with his wound. "Stop it, it stings," he said, pulling his arm away.

Katie tightened her grip on his arm, trying to keep him in place, "Aiden, please. Otherwise it's going to get all infected."

Aiden yelled and stood up, anger burning in his eyes. "I can take care of myself!" he retorted, storming off to the oak tree. He climbed to a branch sufficiently high enough to make his point before stopping. He swore loudly as Sophie saw a red drop splat on the dry leaves below him.

Katie sighed and got up to attempt to get Aiden back down. "Aiden, look what you've done. You've started bleeding again. Believe me, the stinging of the antibiotic is nothing compared to the pain you'll go through if it gets infected," she said, staring up at him. "Come on, Aiden."

"How do you know?" Aiden asked sulkily.

"I've got a huge scar that got infected once. It wasn't pretty. There was pus and blood and all sorts of nasty things coming out of it." Katie answered.

"Fine…" Aiden gave in, a resigned look on his face as he jumped down to the ground. "Let's get it over with."

Katie led him back to where Sophie was sitting on the picnic blanket and began the whole process over again. When they got to the antibiotic part, Aiden bit his lip, but endured the pain. Sophie gradually got bored with watching, so she pulled a novel out of her backpack, leaned against Aiden, and read.


	8. A Short Composition

The next day, around noon, Sophie had just gotten back to the oak tree from the lake when she saw Aiden jump down from his perch in the tree with a yell and run to his violin case. He pulled out his violin in a flash and tightened his bow with a few turns of his wrist. Furiously, he began to bow out a melody that was fierce in its quiet intensity. Sophie listened, enraptured. It was amazing to watch someone react to their sudden inspiration in such a manner. Aiden switched to a lively pizzicato theme, bow bobbing up and down, unused as he plucked away. Then he changed to a loud, sustained note, as if his violin was crying out in heartbreak. He descended three notes and then returned to the first. He repeated this pattern once more before breaking into a jazzy number. Sophie recognized the scale as a blues scale he was improvising on.

Sophie felt a drop of water run down her face. She was soaking! On one hand, she needed to dry off and get changed. On the other hand, she didn't want to interrupt Aiden's musical rampage. She watched him set his violin down and rummage through his backpack for a booklet of blank music paper. He scribbled down a melody, humming it to himself and occasionally snapping his fingers like a metronome so he could figure out the more complex rhythms. Sophie walked to her backpack, keeping an eye on Aiden. He didn't acknowledge her presence until she was walking away.

Aiden shouted after her, "Yes! Of course! Sophie, you're a genius! Thank you! This is perfect!" before burying himself back in his composition.

Sophie was a bit creeped out by Aiden's behavior. _First he's a Phantom phan, then he's autistic, then he's a nice guy, then he's all mysterious, and now he's a musical genius. I wish he'd just make up his mind already! I thought girls were supposed to be the complicated ones._

When Sophie returned to the oak tree warm and dry, she saw Katie and Aiden on the picnic blanket. Katie was lying on her back, enjoying the sun, while Aiden was still writing with great concentration. Sophie hung her wet clothes on a low branch to dry and turned around to see Aiden suddenly sit up from his composition. "Alright, I think we've got something here," he said to the girls. "Sophie, get out your guitar. Katie, warm your voice up. I want to try this song out."

The girls complied, Sophie and Aiden tuning their strings to each other while Katie got a sneak peak at Aiden's song. "Aiden, I don't have perfect pitch. I can guess the intervals, but sight-singing isn't my specialty."

Aiden grinned at Katie assuredly, "Don't worry, for the most part, you echo my melody. It shouldn't be too difficult."

The trio gathered around Aiden's score, which was propped up against his backpack. Sophie had to squint to see the chords written for her, but she could manage. Aiden counted the beat, "One, two, three…" and began on the pick-up notes into the melody line.

It was a beautiful tune, not one of the ones Sophie heard Aiden play earlier. He was lucky his injured forearm didn't inhibit his playing. Sophie noted that the chords she was paying were often dominant seventh chords or fifth chords, but she never changed key or went back to the tonic. It was as if the entire song was building up to a huge climax. As Aiden played, the tune became livelier and brighter, morphing away from the solemn melody it once was.

Aiden let his note die out as Katie began to sing.

"The security of night

Its soft veil a shield

From the truth

Where everyone is sleeping

The world calms down

And listens to the sounds of darkness

The sky a deep blue hue

Stars speckled throughout

Like holes in a blanket

This blanket is frayed at the edges

A lightening of sky signals

The end of peaceful night

Soft lilac and warm indigo

Announce the coming of the sun

The evening star has long since gone

A display of pink and red flares

The morning is imminent

The first rays of light burst forth

Piercing the palpable darkness

Light spreads its energy

The sun rises to its throne in the sky

This procession of light

The dawn's colors

Give hope for the new day

That mayhap the day can be endured

With its liveliness and racket

Until darkness once again

Claims the earth."

Sophie was dumbstruck. Aiden had composed an entire song with melody, countermelody, baseline, harmony, _and_ lyrics? _Wow,_ she thought as the song ended. _He's amazing._

"Aiden, that was so beautiful!" Katie exclaimed as the song was finished. "I can't believe how talented a composer you are! And lyricist. This song is fabulous!" she hugged Aiden, who was quite surprised by the action.

"Thanks, but this is nothing. I've written loads of songs before. I can't believe you guys actually like it that much." Aiden replied, blushing under all of the attention.

"Have you ever written anything Phantom of the Opera related?" Sophie asked.

Aiden nodded, "I've put quotes from the books to song. I've added songs to the musical, added lyrics to some of the songs, done my own translations into French…"

"You speak French?" Katie asked, interested.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Can we play some of the Phantom stuff you've done?" Sophie asked eagerly.

Aiden shook his head, "I don't have any of that stuff with me."

"Oh," Sophie replied, disappointed. She put her guitar away as Aiden put his violin back.

"Say something in French, Aiden. It's such a dreamy language. I wish I knew it," Katie said, reclining against the trunk of the tree.

"_Piano_, _piano_, _ma chanson va naître_," Aiden sang the tune of 'Music of the Night'. "_Cède-lui_, _fais-lui_, _succomber ton être_. _Ose ouvrir ton cœur_, _laisse au loin tes moindres peurs_. _Ces ténèbres_, _on sait que nul ne les combat_, _ténèbres qui ne chantent que pour toi_."

Katie sighed, shutting her eyes as she listened. "That's so beautiful, Aiden. You've a lovely voice."

Aiden made a sarcastic, "Tch!" but didn't say anything otherwise. He paced back and forth, unsure of what to do next. He settled down eventually next to Katie, attempting to steal her iPod away from her. Sophie sat at the opposite end of the blanket, reading a novel. She looked out at the fields of dry grasses, content in the late afternoon sun to laze about with her friends.

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**This could be your day to review! Please please please review! I haven't gotten a review for a week. :( It makes me sad. BTW, the French Aiden sang some of you might recognize from AngelOfMusic8578's phic 'Child of the Wilderness' which I recommend. I wanted Aiden to sing something in French, but the only French songs I know are Frere Jacques and Le Furet, and those wouldn't quite fit in with what I had in mind. So I hope the Authoress doesn't sue me, since what Aiden sang was more Phantom of the Opera than her actual phic. And since neither of us own Phantom of the Opera, I thought it would be okay. I just wanted to add this footnote-ish thing to clarify the matter. So review, people! Please!**  



	9. Hold Your Breath for a Minute

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**Ok... Sorry I haven't updated in a few days! Here's chapter 9, hope you like it! **

**P.S. Review, for goodness' sake! Is it so much to ask? Please!**

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Sophie's easygoing attitude changed when Aiden once again became very antisocial and secluded. He never spoke, he kept his distance from the girls, and he wanted nothing to do with Katie's attempts at conversation. Sophie curled up under the blanket, imagining Aiden's dark eyes watching her as she feigned sleep. The sun had set, and Aiden had nested in the oak tree. Sophie saw why Katie was so anxious to learn the mysteries behind Aiden: he was very odd at times.

The following afternoon, Aiden's cut was deemed healed by Katie. She took the bandages off and was very pleased when the wound showed no signs of infection. It was fully scabbed over and since the girls didn't have big enough Band-Aids for the scrape, Aiden left it undressed. They celebrated by going for a swim in the lake. Aiden was excited, for he wasn't able to go the day before. The three teens ran the distance to the lake and kicked off their shoes. The splash war began upon entering the frigid water. This frightened off the stray cow that was loitering near the lake. She walked off, snubbed by the interruption the three friends had caused. Sophie noticed after a few minutes that Aiden was back to his outgoing self, as if he hadn't shied away from the girls the evening before. Sophie had just gathered the courage to point this out to him when Katie splashed them both with a huge wave.

Aiden leapt for Katie, pushing her underwater with his weight. Sophie heard Katie let out a squeal of surprise just before she was completely submerged. Sophie laughed and waited for them to return to the surface so they could continue the water fight. She waited almost a minute and began to wonder what they were doing and if they were okay. Finally, they resurfaced, panting, with wide grins on their faces.

"What were you guys doing under there?" Sophie asked, concerned.

Katie batted her eyes at Aiden and said, "We were just wrestling. You're so strong, Aiden!" She exclaimed as she examined his bicep muscles.

"Well…" he stammered, blushing. "You know how it is…"

Katie giggled. "I'm going to dry off," she said as she made her way to the shore to sun herself.

Aiden watched her go, disappointment showing in his face. Sophie took this moment to show Aiden that she was just as much fun as Katie and jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Aiden gave a mock roar of rage and fell underneath the surface of the water, lifting his hands to Sophie's arms to remove her from his back. Sophie held on as hard as she could, but she was no match for Aiden. She felt a jolt of realization; he could easily overpower her and take advantage of her if he wanted to. _No, Aiden's proved himself worthy of my trust. He's got more dignity than to do something like that. Why am I thinking this?_ She chided herself. Aiden pulled her arms apart and turned to face her. He gave her another one of his lop-sided grins and shot up to the surface. Sophie was quick to follow.

"What the f-" Sophie began, but she was cut off when she was buffeted by a series of splashes from Aiden. She swam over to where it was shallower and kicked water back at him. Aiden chased her out of the water, showering drops of water onto a protesting Katie.


	10. Aiden's Story

**The chapter you've all been waiting for! Thanks so much for the reviews, I feel loved! Even though I'm sorry you guys don't like AUs or Mary-Sues (which I am assuming is a bad thing to be). Well, aside from that, I hope you're really excited about this chapter, because you'll finally understand what's up with Aiden! Or, some of what's up with him. And if you have any questions, you can look up the words you don't know, or ask me in a review, or email me, or something. And if any of you have any knowledge about what Aiden's going to say, and he says something that's not true, please tell me so I can fix it. Because I made up the whole thing. So without further ado, I give you... Chapter 10!**

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Aiden chased her all the way until they reached the oak tree. Sophie realized they had left their shoes at the lake. _Katie'll see them and bring them back for us,_ she assured herself. The two went their separate ways as they changed out of their sopping clothes and into fresh ones. Sophie grabbed her guitar, attempting to recreate the melody of Aiden's song from the day before. She heard him join in; changing the entire song with the descant he improvised. It was no longer the beautiful melody Sophie had been playing, but a lively folk-sounding tune. Sophie was surprised at how impartial Aiden was with his own songs that he could come up with such an obscure variation.

When the song ended, Sophie walked over to where Aiden was sitting on a low branch. He had already put his violin away, but Sophie merely leaned her guitar against the branch. They sat in silence for some time, until Sophie got over his musical genius. Then she summoned her courage to ask him a question, "Why did-"

But Aiden spoke at the same time, "I bet you have a lot of things to ask me."

They grinned at each other for a moment and Sophie nodded. She recalled one of her first misgivings about Aiden. "Why did you…" she stopped, unable to express her question in words. Rather, she ran her hand along her jaw line as he did two days before.

Aiden replied easily, "There was a bug crawling on your face. I brushed it off."

Sophie muttered an "Oh," and stared off into the distance, thinking. She crossed and uncrossed her ankles idly.

Aiden asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Sophie answered nervously, "You seem a lot more sociable this morning than last night."

It was Aiden's turn to look uncomfortable. "I suppose I have to tell you why you found me in this tree, then," he whispered.

Sophie's heart began beating faster. She was so curious! But she didn't dare press the matter. "If you think you should," she tried to sound casual about it.

Aiden took a breath, "I still don't know if I can trust you."

Sophie was indignant. "Aiden! Hello! The whole thing with the tree and you and me and you were falling and we pulled you up…" she sighed, calming herself. "I had my doubts about you at first. But you're okay now. If it's really that important, like if it would affect your well-being, you should tell me. Get it off your chest." Aiden didn't reply. He had his eyes closed, an inner conflict raging in his head. "You're like the phantom. You're like Erik. All this mystery about you. No one knows about your past." _Question is, _Sophie added silently, _which one of us is Christine?_

Aiden shot Sophie a look of confusion, "But that's different. I'm not like him."

"Then how are you different? Tell me!" Sophie had just about lost her patience with him.

Aiden began, "Erik's face is all distorted. That's his problem. I've got a completely different problem. Does my face look disfigured? Am I a living corpse? No. My troubles are way different than his."

Sophie kicked her foot against his, "Is that all you're going to say?"

Aiden snorted, "No, I'll tell you everything." He sighed. "Where should I start?"

Sophie giggled, "That's really cheesy. The beginning, no duh!"

Aiden laughed, his lop-sided grin making another appearance. "Fine. So you know how weird I sometimes act? What did you think was wrong with me?"

Sophie looked at her feet, "I thought you were autistic."

Aiden nodded enthusiastically, "You're very smart! So what I've got is kind of like a schizophrenic autism, though it seems kind of redundant to put it that way. Sometimes I'm normal, sometimes I'm autistic. You see, I'm not like Erik at all. Plus, I'm not the kidnap-someone-and-force-her-to-marry-me type."

Sophie thought this over. She looked up at him and asked, "So that doesn't explain why we found you in a tree."

Aiden blushed, "I couldn't stand being at the institute any longer. They never treated me like I was normal; it was like they thought I was a wild animal. The tests and experiments drove me crazy. No one ever had a mental condition like mine before, so I had extra attention. I had to run away, don't you see? Although it does seem pretty stupid now. But it's a lot better than how my life was before."

"How long were you here before we found you?"

Aiden shrugged, "A week or two, I suppose."

Sophie gasped, "Two weeks! What did you eat, for goodness' sake?"

Aiden chuckled, "Well, I did pack a backpack full of food. I had just run out when you guys came."

Sophie whistled.

The two sat in silence once more, until Katie returned from sunning herself, her boisterous self demanding full attention as she approached with the chatter of, "Here are your shoes, you two. It was pretty stupid of you to run off without them. Your feet must be all cut up from the rocks and dirt. Anyway, I had a great tanning session. I think I'll go back tomorrow too. What are you doing, Aiden? Do you want to teach me some French? That'd be fun. Come on, Aiden! Teach me?" she rambled. Her clothes were dry already, and she was ready to jump to the next thing in store for her.

Aiden laughed and hopped off the branch. "Sure, I'll teach you. Sophie, do you want to learn French with us?" Aiden asked, extending the invitation.

Sophie shook her head, inspiration for a song hitting her suddenly. "No, I'm going to go for a walk. You guys have fun!" With that, Sophie grabbed her guitar, journal, and a pencil, and walked off. In addition to writing her song, she had a lot to think about, also.

Sophie heard Katie's giggle and Aiden's laugh after a minute of walking. She smiled to herself as she pictured Katie mispronouncing a phrase and Aiden laughing because she said something that didn't make any sense.

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**...But is that what they're really doing! You'll have to wait to find out! Hee hee hee...  
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**So...? Are you all going to come after me with pitchforks and torches? I've been chased by an angry mob before (It was for my friend's video project). I really hope you guys don't hate me! Regardless of that, please review!**


	11. Risky Business

**Well, I'm depressed that no one reviewed last chapter, but I'm going to keep updating this phic until it's over. We're getting into the main plot now, and if it doesn't go how you like it, bear with me! I've got a few more tricks up my sleeves! Please, please, please review!**

**I do not own Led Zeppelin or Phantom of the Opera. I do own these crazy characters, and Sophie's song, which I wrote at Caz last summer. Sorry I couldn't distinguish the stanzas, but every three lines is one verse, FYI. **

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Sophie walked for some time, eventually reaching a secluded, shady spot in a patch of lush grass the cows hadn't gotten to yet. She scanned the horizon for any signs of hiking trails, and laid her belongings out. She opened up her journal and looked at the song she had started. She had to finish it. She knew exactly how she wanted it to go. Sophie got to work, struggling with the English language to make her feelings fit within the confines of the poem.

An hour went by and Sophie was almost finished. She found that one couldn't rush the creative process and that it always took her a long time to get something just right. She picked up her guitar and played the whole song through, finally satisfied with how it sounded.

"A lone leaf falls

Swirling towards the source

Of a violin's lonely calls

This acreage is cloaked in green

The sun's light among the trees

Causes a brilliant sheen

The glowing leaves hear

The violin's melancholy air

Its message is quite clear

The violin softly explains

The reason for its sad existence

And so the song remains,"

Sophie sang quietly to herself, strumming the chord changes on her guitar. She let the last chord fade away as she thought about her song. She noticed the slight similarities of the lines 'Its message is quite clear' and 'The story was quite clear' from Led Zeppelin's _Kashmir_. With a grim smile, she also noted how she ended with another line from a song, 'And so the song remains', which was very similar to _The Song Remains the Same_ also by Led Zeppelin. Sophie was annoyed by her tendency to end her songs with a line from a song she had heard. This wasn't the first time this had happened. It depressed her to think that not everything she thought up was original. But there is so much repetition in life that she supposed it was forgivable.

Sophie looked up at the sky, the sun was setting. She decided it was time to get back to the oak tree. As she picked up her things, she wondered idly how Katie's French lesson was going, and if Aiden was going to tell Katie what he told her.

Sophie announced her arrival back at the oak tree with a yelled greeting, which was met with hushed mutters by Katie and Aiden. Sophie saw movement on the picnic blanket as they got up when she arrived. The sun's dying rays caused Sophie to squint; she missed the guilty looks on their faces. Those looks disappeared when Sophie said cheerfully, "I finished writing a song, and I found a great spot to hang out at. How was your French lesson?"

Aiden and Katie shot each other knowing glances, "It was…" Katie began, "Fabulous! Aiden, you're such a great teacher! We really must have another lesson sometime," she unobtrusively elbowed Aiden in the stomach.

"What- oh, yeah, sure. We had a great time," Aiden played along.

Sophie sensed something was up, but before she could ask anything, Katie declared that nature called and that she must be on her way.

That left Aiden and Sophie standing awkwardly before each other. Aiden stammered, "C-Can I hear your… song?"

Sophie nodded and sat on the low branch to play for Aiden. Aiden sat down next to her. Sophie pulled her guitar onto her lap, and as she did so, the head of her guitar accidentally tapped Aiden in the side.

Aiden flinched.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Did you suddenly go autistic? Do you not like to be touched? I'm sorry!" Sophie exclaimed.

Aiden grinned, "No, no, it just tickled."

Sophie raised her eyebrows "Oh really?" She set down her guitar, hatching a new plan. "Does it tickle if I go like this?" she laughed, poking Aiden in the ribs as many times as she could.

Aiden squealed, "Yes! Stop! Sophie! That tickles!" He jumped off the branch to the picnic blanket to avoid the barrage of pokes from Sophie. As he jumped, he twisted onto his back.

Sophie followed suit and leapt off too, pinning Aiden to the ground to keep him from running away. "Gotcha!" she shouted, tickling him all over his sides. Aiden's body wriggled underneath hers and Sophie suddenly realized her odd they must look.

Aiden calmed down and stared up at her, grin still plastered on his face.

"How old are you?" Sophie asked.

"Sixteen. You?"

"Seventeen. What's your favorite color?"

"Red, Yours?"

"Green. Favorite classical composer?"

"Bach. You?"

"Tchaikovsky. What did you do when you and Katie were underwater for such a long time?"

Aiden looked away and blushed. "What is this? Twenty questions or something?" he tried to ask it lightly.

Sophie wasn't amused. She knew something was up. "Maybe. Tell me. What were you doing?"

Aiden muttered, "She kissed me."

"Why did that take so long?"

"It was a good kiss."

"And your 'French lesson?'"

"We were actually making out."

Sophie was bombarded by a series of emotions. Jealousy, anger, betrayal, and sadness flooded through her veins. She realized she now had very little chance of being with Aiden now that Katie's feminine charms had done their magic on him. She just stared at Aiden for a minute. How could she redeem herself in his eyes? Sophie heard a rustling of grasses that signified Katie returning from her business. Sophie knew she had to think of something quick so that she still might have a chance of Aiden liking her. It was now or never. Sophie was gambling everything. She lowered her head to Aiden's and kissed him full on the lips.

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**Ooh! Cliffhanger! Please review! Comments, questions, complaints, anything!**  



	12. No Day but Today

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in like, a week. Short chapter, but there's more to follow!**

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Sophie felt Aiden's body go rigid with the shock of such a risky move, but he quickly accepted the gesture and relaxed. He responded, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him. His tongue pressed gently on her lips, so she parted them slightly to let him in. She explored his mouth with her tongue, discovering that it was as sweet as his voice. Aiden's hands slid along her body, resting on her hips. Sophie moaned slightly, deepening the kiss and moving her hands up to cup Aiden's face.

Sophie forgot her anger, her jealousy, her sense of betrayal as passion surged in her chest. There was nothing that mattered in the world except Aiden. She was so overwhelmed at such strong fervor that her mind almost shut itself off in shock of such unchaste actions.

When Sophie heard Katie's shriek of all the emotions she had just forgotten, and she was sent back to reality, she somehow found herself underneath Aiden. She couldn't quite tell what was her and what was him; they were so tangled in each other. When Aiden heard the shriek, he stopped and looked up at Katie. Then he looked back down at Sophie.

Quickly, he scrambled off Sophie and stood up. Like a flash, he was up the oak tree, to a branch inaccessible by the girls.

A soft wail pierced the darkening sky. Sophie staggered as she got up, fixing her shirt, which had inexplicably been pulled up just beneath her chin. Adjusting her bra, she looked up towards where Aiden was sitting in the tree. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was the one moaning.

Glancing at the shocked look on Katie's face, Sophie felt a glow of triumph swell in her heart, because she knew why Aiden was moaning. He had suddenly changed back to being autistic. It wasn't uncommon for autistic children to do outrageous things when overwhelmed.

Still feeling a bit daring from the last stunt she pulled, Sophie took another chance. Wanting to preserve her friendship with Katie, Sophie became the actress. She fell on her knees and began 'crying'.

"Did you see that?" she cried to Katie. "Did you see what he was doing to me? Oh, Katie, I'm so scared! I tried to yell for help, but I was afraid he'd hurt me if I made a sound!" Sophie collapsed into tears, sobbing as Katie rushed over.

"There, there, you're okay now," Katie crooned. "He won't do that ever again to you."

Sophie sniffed, "Are you sure? Will you protect me?"

Katie nodded, "That's what friends do!"

Sophie stood and hugged Katie, controlling her rage at that last comment. "Thanks, Katie. I feel so much better now!" Sophie paused, listening. "Why is he moaning?" she asked innocently.

Katie replied in a harsh tone, "That- That imbecile! I don't know what he's playing at. Aiden!" She yelled, turning to look up at where she approximated he was in the tree. "Aiden come down here right now! We need to talk, and you can't get out of it this time."

Sophie shivered. _He'll tell the truth if she asks him, and my cover will be blown. I don't want to lose Katie as my friend,_ she thought. _Please, Aiden. _She prayed, _be normal again!_


	13. Something Bad

**This is one of those icky, awkward, slightly cheesy chapters that comes in between two major plot events. Please bear with me, and keep waiting for updates, as it will get a little less awkward, and less licky, but I'm sorry to say that it will only get more cheesy because I have to tie it in with Phantom of the Opera, and that's really the only way to do it. You'll see! It won't be as bad as it sounds.

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**

Aiden slowly climbed out of the tree and trudged towards the two girls.

"Aiden," Katie said, in a dangerously calm voice. "What were you doing to Sophie?"

_She knows the truth,_ Sophie realized as a chill ran down her spine.

"Kissing her," Aiden answered in a monotone voice. "I wasn't thinking clearly. I didn't even mind that she was touching me. Are you mad at me?" he asked Katie with guilt in his eyes.

Katie's expression softened, "No, dear! Of course not. How could I be mad at you?" she asked, hugging his stiff body. "But you won't do it again, right?"

Aiden moaned again as Katie hugged him. Sophie figured that Katie saw that as an invitation to hug tighter, instead of let go, because she did exactly that. Sophie gasped as Aiden pushed Katie away and she fell to the ground.

"Don't _touch_ me!" he roared at Katie.

Sophie backed away as Aiden's autistic rage took a hold of him. She realized how lucky she was that she had never gotten on Aiden's bad side.

Katie stared up at Aiden in horror, "You said you didn't mind when Sophie touched you!"

Aiden pondered this for a moment, then sat down and pulled his knees up to his chest and started wailing like a small child. "Make him stop!" Katie said, covering her ears.

The girls looked at each other. Understanding flashed in their eyes. There was no need to pretend anymore, they both knew the other knew everything. But even as this friendship was torn apart over Aiden, the girls had to come together to calm him down.

Sophie grabbed her guitar and began strumming the opening chords of 'All I Ask of You' as Katie warily sang Raoul's comforting lines.

"…I'm here, nothing can harm you. Your fears are far behind you."

Katie stopped singing as Sophie played Christine's melody on her guitar. "You're safe, no one will find you. My words will warm and calm you."

Sophie noted that Katie was very shaken up, as she was singing the lyrics all out of order. Sophie looked over at Aiden to see what affect the music had on him.

Aiden now had his hands over his ears, groaning even louder to block out the sound of the guitar and voice. Sophie stopped playing, which caused Katie to stop singing quite abruptly. The girls silently lay down on the picnic blanket, as it was too dark to do anything, and neither of them was especially hungry after what had just happened.

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Sophie dreamed she was in the Phantom's lair during 'Down Once More' and she was tied to the portcullis. Katie was in Phantom's position, and Aiden was in Christine's. Sophie and Katie were singing, "For either way you choose, you cannot win!"

Katie sang, "So do you end your days with me, or do you send her to her grave!"

Sophie's dream suddenly changed and now she was walking towards Aiden, singing, "Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you, you are not alone!" she reached up to kiss Aiden, but he pushed her back and yelled, "Don't _touch_ me!"

Sophie woke up as the word "Aiden!" escaped from her mouth. She sat up and pulled out a granola bar from her backpack. Looking around, she noticed that Katie was nowhere to be found. Sophie got up and took out a flashlight. She sent the beam up into the tree to see if Aiden was in there. Sophie didn't see him, but she supposed that didn't mean he wasn't there.

Too tired to think about it, Sophie finished her granola bar and returned to sleep.


	14. The End of the Camping Trip

**Thanks to Opera Dove, for reviewing so much, and everyone else that reviewed! I feel so loved! And I'll totally review all of your stories (that have to do with POTO) if I haven't already. Here's chapter 14!

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"Sophie!" Sophie heard her name as she was shaken awake. "Sophie! Get up! They've taken Aiden!"

Sophie opened her eyes. Katie was shaking her. "What?" she said groggily. "Taken?"

Katie replied hurriedly, "Yes! Get up!" as she pulled Sophie to her feet. "Come on!"

The two girls ran, Katie leading the way. Sophie recognized where they were heading: out of the open space and back to the rest of the world. Sophie looked down at her feet. She wasn't wearing any shoes. She saw a cut on one foot and felt a few blisters forming, but she didn't slow down.

They moved like deer being pursued by a predator. When they reached the parking lot, they saw Aiden struggling to free himself from many men who were trying to get him into a van. On the side of the van, the words 'Green Palms Mental Institute' were painted.

"Aiden!" Sophie screamed, running forward. One of the men blocked her from reaching him. Sophie jumped up and saw Aiden collapse, a tranquilizing needle sticking out of his arm.

"Now Miss," said the man holding Sophie back. "If you can't control yourself, I may have to suggest that you come too."

Sophie cried, "No! Aiden! Come back! Where are you taking him?"

The man started walking towards the van; obviously about to get in and drive off, "Aiden Cooper has a mental disorder of a very distinct kind. He needs to be under constant surveillance."

"You're wrong! Aiden's just fine! Stop kidding yourself!"

The man turned to look at her, "Calm down, Miss. Everything's perfectly all right."

Sophie stamped her foot, unable to express herself verbally. "You can't take him away. You're kidnapping him! Give Aiden back!" she ran at the man, hitting him with her fists.

"Sophie, no! Don't loose your head!" Katie gasped, pulling her off the poor psychiatric worker.

The man said, "We have full authorization to take Mr. Cooper to the institute. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I must be off." With that, the man turned on his heel and climbed into the van.

Sophie broke away from Katie's grasp and chased after the van. "Aiden!" she screamed, slowing down from exhaustion. "No…" she whispered, swaying slightly.

Katie caught up with her and held her arm to keep her from falling. "Sophie. Listen to me. Don't pass out. Sophie!" And Sophie knew no more.

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When Sophie regained consciousness, she was aware of an immense pain in her left foot. Then she realized she was freezing. Sophie opened her eyes and saw the interior of Katie's car. Katie was talking, "Hey Mom. We're back from camping. We're going to Sophie's house. Yeah. Okay. Bye." The car began moving. The rocking motion made Sophie slip back into unconsciousness.

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**Okay. I know it's confusing. Sophie didn't get much sleep, and she's not as good runner as Katie. She fainted from exhaustion; she just ran like, a mile** **and then threw such a tantrum. So I hope I cleared that up a little. **  



	15. Journey to the GPMI

**Another one of those connecting chapters in between two plot events, but not very cheesy this time! Yay! Alright, hope you like chapter 15, and come back tomorrow (or the next day) for the next installment!

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**

"Sophie. Wake up." Katie's face swam in her vision. "Get up. Can you walk?"

Sophie groaned, "I guess. Where are we?"

"Your house," Katie answered as she helped Sophie out of the car.

The two girls made their way up the driveway to Sophie's house. Opening the door, Sophie called out, "I'm back!" and ushered Katie into her room.

Shutting her bedroom door, Sophie walked over to her bed and sat down. Katie went to Sophie's desk and turned on the computer. Sophie asked, "Where were you last night?"

"With Aiden."

Sophie's stomach churned. "With… Aiden. Did you _do_ anything _with_ Aiden?"

Katie laughed, "No, Sophie. You're so paranoid. He told me about himself. Said you already knew," she answered as she typed away.

"Seems kind of dumb to ruin a friendship over a guy," Sophie said.

"We'll worry about that later. We need to rescue Aiden from that mental institute. He doesn't belong there," Katie said over the hum of the printer running.

"I'm not going to break the law," Sophie said, worried about what Katie was planning.

"If everything goes to plan, we won't have to," Katie replied coldly.

"So what about our camping stuff?" Sophie asked, examining the thin cut on her foot.

"It's in my car," Katie answered. "Aiden's stuff, too."

Sophie had a gash on her left foot where she had stepped on something sharp during their early morning episode. Gingerly, she got up and limped to her dresser, where she pulled on a pair of socks. She was still tired from the running and wanted desperately to lie down and sleep. Katie collected the paper she had printed from the printer bed and stuffed it in her pocket. "I'll bring in your and Aiden's stuff. It won't be as safe in my car, and my brother will break the violin if he sees it."

Sophie nodded and curled up on her bed as Katie left her room and came back a minute later with two backpacks and two instrument cases. "I'll call you tomorrow," she said as she set the cargo down and shut the door on her way out.

Sophie climbed under the covers without so much as a thought about how filthy her clothes were. A peaceful and dreamless sleep took over.

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"Sophie! Katie's on the phone!"

Sophie woke to her mother's yell. Slowly, she got out of bed and picked up the phone on her desk. "Yeah?" she said in a raspy voice.

"Sophie? Hey. Listen," Katie's voice said. "We've got some loose ends to tie. How soon can I pick you up?"

Sophie jiggled the mouse on her computer to turn off the screensaver. She looked at the clock in the bottom right corner. It was 10:13. "Pick me up at eleven-thirty," she said into the phone, slightly confused on the reason why she had to go anywhere. What point was there to life if Aiden was indisposed?

Sighing, Sophie got up and showered, wondering what Katie had planned. Sophie got dressed and ate a small bowl of cereal, and was just finishing her makeup when Katie honked her car as she pulled into the driveway.

Throwing her purse over her shoulder and collecting Aiden's belongings, she told her mom she was going out and she'd be back by dinner. _Summer vacation is great, _Sophie thought, _So much freedom. But also so much more time for these dramas,_ she added to herself wryly.

Stepping out the door, Sophie walked briskly to Katie's car, put Aiden's things in the trunk, and got in the passenger side. "Hey," she said as she sat down and buckled her seatbelt. "What have you got planned for today?"

Katie pulled out of the street as she said, "We're going to rescue Aiden," as she handed Sophie the directions she had printed out yesterday to Green Palms Mental Institute.

Sophie gaped as she took the paper, "And how exactly are we going to do that?"

"Well, first we'll say we need to see him to give him his violin back," Katie said, getting on the highway. "Then we'll ask for a private word with him and we can sort things out. Then we'll ask him how he got out last time and repeat that again."

Sophie nodded, "Okay. It sounds alright until the breaking him out part. I'm not breaking the law, not even for him."

"Then we'll think of something else with him."

"Fine," Sophie said. "Take the exit coming up," she said, pointing.

Katie changed lanes and conversation died down as the girls concentrated on getting to where they were going.

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**Wow, that was a crappy place to end this chapter, but it had to be done. Review!**  



	16. Not Quite Dead Yet

**Wow, this is the shortest chapter in the history of this story, I bet. I hope you get a kick out of it!

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**

After about twenty minutes, they pulled into the Green Palms Mental Institute parking lot. Sophie got out of the car and opened up the trunk. She pulled out the sleek black violin case. Once Sophie had closed the trunk, Katie locked the doors and began walking up to the large building that reminded Sophie of a hospital.

"This violin is really heavy," Sophie muttered as they approached the entrance.

"Well duh," Katie answered scornfully. "That violin's probably worth several thousand dollars."

"Guitars are so much cheaper. And easier to play," Sophie said, pushing the door open and welcoming the blast of cool air that greeted her.

"Singing doesn't cost anything," Katie said, walking up to the reception desk. Her voice was very falsely cheerful when she said to the clerk, "Hi, um, I've got this violin, and like, it's Aiden's. Can we give it to him? Aiden Cooper?"

Sophie walked up next to Katie to back her up in case there was a problem. But nothing could have prepared her for what the receptionist said.

"I'm afraid that Mr. Cooper is no longer with us," the woman said. **(A/N: I just want you to take a moment, and let this sentence sink in... Still have those pitchforks...? Okay! Keep reading!)**

Sophie dropped the violin, "What! Aiden's dead? You killed him!" A blind rage took a hold of Sophie as tears sprang to her eyes. She practically climbed over the counter to attack the poor secretary.

The clerk stood and back away, eyes widening in fear. Katie pulled Sophie back, apologizing for her friend's behavior. "No, Mr. Cooper's parents picked him up this morning. He's staying with them now," the clerk said, eyeing Sophie warily. "Would you like an information packet? I think you'll find our rates are quite-"

"I'm not insane, you-" Sophie paused, composing herself. "I'm so sorry. It's that time of month, you see. Please forgive me."

"Very well," the secretary said stiffly.

"Could you give us directions to where to reach Aiden so we can deliver his violin to him?" Katie asked sweetly.

The clerk grunted and wrote something down on a piece of paper. She handed it to Katie with a contemptuous look at Sophie. "Have a nice day," she said in a monotone voice.

"You too," Katie replied in a sing-song voice, leading the way out the door.

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**Woo! I really had you going there for a second, didn't I? Lol, I'm just kidding. Review!**  



	17. 12 Greenfox Lane

**Chapter 17! This one ends really badly also, but it was long enough.

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Once the girls were outside, Katie turned on Sophie, "God, Sophie, you spazz! Just go ahead and jump to conclusions like that. Real smart, Sophie real smart. Aiden's only one guy. He's almost too much trouble than he's worth. Are you really that much in love with him?"

Sophie stammered, "In love! What are you talking about? I'm not… in _love_ with Aiden… I think…" Sophie had never thought about it before. Did she really feel that strongly about him? _I suppose I do_, Sophie mused. "What's it to you?" she asked Katie.

"What's it to me?" Katie repeated incredulously. "I've got my eye on him too, you know. Of course you know."

_It's just a game to her_, Sophie thought to herself as she put the violin back in the trunk and got in the car. _She has to have everything I want. _"Can't you just leave him alone? Any guy would go for you, he's the only guy I've ever liked this much."

Katie sighed, "Fine. I won't push it, but if he asks me out, I'm not saying no. Let's just hope we don't catch him at an autistic time," Katie joked.

Sophie nodded and stared at the window, thinking. _If Aiden could just see that I'm the one that really cares for him, then this shouldn't be a problem, _she thought.

"Aren't you going to tell me where to go, freak?" Katie said, throwing the paper with directions at her.

"Whatever," Sophie said. "Turn right. His house isn't too far away. Just on the other side of the mountain we were camping on."

They passed by the open space. "Aiden didn't have to go very far to get here," Katie commented. "It's only a mile or two from the institute."

"Jeez, can you imagine carrying that violin two miles?" Sophie replied. "He sure had a lot of resolve. Take a left on Bluecrest road."

Katie obliged and turned up said road.

"These streets have cute names," Sophie observed. "Tangerinebreeze, Moosewood, Redtracks, Pinegoose, Rosefield… Rosefield! Turn there!"

"God, Sophie, pay attention!" Katie yelled as they made a very sharp turn. "We almost missed it."

"Sorry. Turn right on Greenfox. And now it's number twelve. I can't believe we're here. I'm so nervous. What if his parents are weird? What if they won't let us see him?" Sophie babbled nervously as they pulled over in front of a quaint two-story white cottage-style house.

"Chillax, Sophie. Everything will work out just fine," Katie said, getting out.

Sophie got out and took the violin and backpack out of the trunk. She followed Katie up the walk and stood behind her on the porch as she rang the doorbell.

Sophie noticed the window curtain move in one of the second floor windows and then Aiden's yell of, "I'll get it!"

No one came to the door, but the girls heard the following conversation: "Oh no you won't, boy! Don't go scaring the neighbors!"

"It's okay, Mom! They're my friends!"

"Friends? You don't have any friends! Did you meet them on your little escapade? I bet they're hookers."

"Mom! I'm going to get the door!"

"Don't keep your 'friends' waiting! Whatever you want, Aiden."

A red faced Aiden opened the front door, and instead of a 'hello' or a 'how are you', he said, "You heard all of that, didn't you?"

Sophie thought Aiden looked very different in baggy red plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a white undershirt than what she was used to seeing him in. "Yeah, we did," she answered.

"What are you guys doing here?" Aiden asked, leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed.

Katie gestured to the violin case in Sophie's hand, "Well, we came to give this back to you. And we need to talk before you get all crazy again."

Aiden shifted his stance, annoyed. "I do not go crazy, I just… become… a little strange…" he mumbled. "How'd you find me anyway?"

"We went to the institute and they told us where you went and gave us directions," Sophie replied.

"Yeah and Sophie here went ballistic when the receptionist said, 'Mr. Cooper is no longer with us,'" Katie added in a disparaging tone.

Aiden grinned lop-sidedly and asked Sophie, "You thought I died?"

Sophie nodded, blushing. She looked away, embarrassed but slightly assured that Aiden knew she cared about him.

"So you guys want to come in?" Aiden asked, moving out of the doorway to let the girls in.

Katie smiled graciously and stepped inside, removing her shoes on the marble floor of the foyer. Sophie did the same, setting the backpack down and handing the violin over to Aiden as she did so.

Wordlessly, Aiden led them up the stairs before Sophie could see any more of the house. They walked down a short hallway and stopped at a closed door. The doors were painted white, very uniform with the rest of the neat house.

Sophie thought it was an old person's house. _That must make Aiden feel out of place even in his own home, _Sophie thought, feeling pity as well as love for this strange boy.

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**Don't you love all of the streetnames I made up? ** **We'll learn more about Aiden's mother in the chapter after next. Review!**  



	18. Aiden the Neurologist

**Okay, okay, another short chapter, but on the plus side: You had all better be excited for the next chapter! I swear I researched everything in this chapter exhaustingly, so please tell me if I am wrong, so I can be sad that all my research was in vain. Please don't die from the suspense until you have read chapter 19, which is the big finale!

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Aiden opened his bedroom door and allowed the girls in. Sophie saw the cleanest bedroom she had ever seen; the bed was made, his desk was tidy, all of his clothes were neatly put away, and the keyboard in his room had no stuff piled on it. There was a music stand with a few books and a tuner on it in one corner, and in another there was a chessboard with all the pieces neatly placed in their positions. Sophie noticed that there was nothing on the walls except for a full-length mirror. There were red curtains that matched the red bedspread on Aiden's double bed that hugged the wall. The room was dimly lit; only the desk lamp and another lamp on a bedside table were on.

"Wow… Your room is hella clean," Katie said, looking around. "I had pictured it to be messier."

Aiden cleared his throat, "Well, I'd probably pass out if everything was messy and I suddenly went autistic."

"I guess you're right," Katie replied. "I just always thought that really creative and musical people were messy."

Aiden set his violin down near his music stand and sat down on his bed, his red pajama bottoms clashing garishly against the bedspread.

Katie sat down next to him, arranging her flower-print skirt just right before saying, "I know it's stupid of me to generalize like that, but that's how I've always thought."

"Creativity is harbored in the right frontal lobe of the brain. Logic is the left frontal lobe. Autistic people, although known for accepting fantasy instead of reality, tend to be very logical. When I'm normal, it's reversed. I like music and art and all that," Aiden said uncomfortably.

_He must really hate talking about himself,_ Sophie thought, taking a seat in the swivel chair at Aiden's desk. "So even when you're normal, you're not normal? Your brain never really balances?" she asked.

"Well, no, not really. They say I'm pretty normal; they get that from all the tests and interviews. But there's no way you can tell. I'm as normal as I'll ever be right now," Aiden answered.

"Do you know what causes you to become autistic, then?" Katie asked. She was unaware that Aiden was growing increasingly uncomfortable with all of these questions.

"I don't know for sure, but some psychologists and neurologists think it's related to stress or surprise. But it's not consistent with anything they've thought of so far."

The room was silent for a few minutes as the girls pondered Aiden's words. "So let's get down to business," Katie broke the silence. Sophie noticed Aiden's relief as the spotlight switched off of him. "You know that sooner or later, you're going to have to make a decision, Aiden," Katie continued.

Aiden sighed as he lay back on his bed, hands behind his head. _So the spotlight hasn't moved, _Sophie thought, feeling bad for him, but also impatience because she wanted him to make the choice. Aiden shut his eyes and answered calmly, "Yeah, I know. I knew we'd eventually get around to it. I can't say I've decided yet."

Sophie tapped her fingers on the arm rests nervously. She wished she could read his mind and become the perfect person for him.

"So how do you want to go about this?" Katie asked.

Aiden lifted his head and looked at Sophie, "Can you go so I can talk to Katie alone?"

Sophie nodded, unsure whether this was good for her or bad. She left the room and shut the door behind her. She heard muffled voices through the wall, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Restless, Sophie roamed the hallway. Peering over the railing, she saw a middle-aged woman making coffee in the kitchen. The lady sensed Sophie's gaze and looked up at her with a piercing look.

"You must be one of Aiden's friends," she sneered.

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**Oh no! It's Aiden's mom! What will she be like? **

** OMG, I want to somehow include this idea I have as a last laugh, and I just figured out how. So come back tomorrow!  
**


	19. Untitled!

**OMG! Are you ready for chapter 19! The chapter in which "All will be reveeeeeeeeeeeeealed!" (Kashmir by Led Zeppelin) ... Can you handle the excitement!** **Can you survive through this pointless A/N until you have completed this chapter! Yes! You can and you have! Now read the chapter, gosh darn it!

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Sophie was shocked at the woman's rudeness, but nodded anyway. "Yes," she said, voice quavering from nerves.

"He has told you about his… problem?" Aiden's mom sniffed disdainfully.

"He has," Sophie replied, composing herself.

"And yet you're still his friend?"

Sophie nodded again, adding silently, _I still love him even if it's not mutual._

"Oh yes," the woman said loftily, sipping her steaming coffee. "Aiden can throw quite the tantrum when he doesn't get his way. Sometimes he picks up the worst habits, refusing to eat certain things, not speaking to anyone for weeks at a time, and all sorts of nonsense. And then other times, I hear him playing his violin like the world was going to end. Oh, by now, you'd suppose he'd have published a song or two, but no, it's never good enough for him to even play it in front of me. He's such a modest boy. He gets it from Charles, my husband. He was a shy one when is came to certain things, if you know what I mean," the woman winked at Sophie. "I daresay he performs well enough anyway. Lord knows what went wrong with Aiden. He can be very sweet, you know, my Aiden," the woman praised, smiling up at Sophie.

_What a strange woman, _Sophie thought. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name," Sophie said politely.

"It's Marilyn. What's your name, dear?"

"Sophie."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Sophie," Marilyn said.

"And the same to you, Mrs. Cooper."

"Please, dear, call me Marilyn," she said as she excused herself to take a phone-call.

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Sophie continued down the stairs and found herself in the foyer. She spotted Aiden's backpack. Sneakily, Sophie dug through it and pulled out his journal, flipping to the most recently written on page. She saw many lyrics to songs Aiden must have thought of as he was writing. His handwriting was very sloppy, and Sophie had a hard time reading the journal entry.

_July 27_

_I was in one of my moods for most of the day today. I don't know what brings me to think so rashly, but I regret every minute of it. Katie kissed me in the lake today. If I had been thinking clearly, I wouldn't have even been in the same vicinity as she was, but as I said, I wasn't thinking. And it was a good kiss, I suppose, since I remember being very elated. And for the rest of the day, I was thinking very inappropriate thoughts about her. Especially during our 'French lesson'. I can't believe I would do something like that._

P(HZ CY) + P(HY CZ)

P(CY)•P (HZ CY) + P(HY CZ)

(⅓ • 1) + (⅓ • 1) ⅔

_My love for you is magnified_

_With every breath that you have sighed_

_Hello, I'm back and normal again. Wow, today was intense. Well, for starters, there was passion and deception, not to mention a lot of confusion. Katie: my love. I've never met a girl like her before. She actually kissed me today. Well, we did more than that, but we didn't go all the way or anything. We've only known each other for like, a few days. My mouth kind of hurts now. It was worth it, though. Jeez, I'm getting myself all excited just thinking about her! Just imagine, she likes me. Me, the reject of life. Sophie was kind of right, I am a bit like Erik. "She loves me for myself!" I hear you, man. Sophie: my sister. If I had a sister, I would want her to be like Sophie. She can be fun, but I can connect with her musically too. And it seems like she would know how to deal with me when I'm autistic. She knows we're just friends, so why did she kiss me today too? And I know we're just friends, so why did I let her? I guess I was thinking about Katie and took my feelings out on Sophie. I feel terrible for that. But Katie! What a gal! I can't stop thinking about her. It's like, midnight right now, and I can't fall asleep, the thought of her keeping me up. And am I alert. Not this groggy-and-on-the-verge-of-sleep insomnia, I feel like I just had four cups of coffee, not that I've ever had that much before. Dad used to let me have some before they sent me to the institute. Mom would yell at him for it, though. _

_I'll write more later; Katie just found me here and I need to warn her about my condition before this relationship progresses any further._**_

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_****OMG! ****Did Aiden actually write that? I'm shocked! Please please please review, the story's not quite over yet! **

******P.S. The math equation Aiden wrote in his journal is supposed to be more complicated looking (and actually have equal signs and stuff), but it didn't transfer very well when I uploaded it to I got it from the appendix in the fabulous book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon, which is where I got got most of my data on the behavior of autistic children. I recommend it to you all! **


	20. The Extremely Cheesy Ending

Sophie was in shock; she couldn't believe what she had just read. Aiden didn't like her. He was obsessed with Katie. She guessed at what they were doing now together, alone in Aiden's bedroom. She felt anger as well as heartbreak. Why couldn't she have been able to tell? Why wasn't she a big flirt like Katie?

"Sophie! Aiden wants to talk with you," Katie called from Aiden's doorway.

Sophie clutched the journal in her hands as she raced up the stairs, hiding the journal behind her back as she entered. She put on a calm face as she sat down across from Aiden on his bed. Aiden idly ran his fingers through his hair, eyes focused on nothing. "I met your mom," she ventured.

Aiden wrinkled his nose, avoiding Sophie's eyes. "My mom's… anyway, I apologize for her behavior," Aiden grinned wryly, "I bet she said the same thing about me."

Sophie almost blushed. "It was unnecessary for her to do that."

Aiden nodded, "You're right. Sometimes I hate my mom so much."

Sophie felt a twinge of pity for the boy, even as her heart was breaking. "Don't say things like that," she whispered, choking back tears. She wanted to run away from Aiden, scream at him, or do anything to show him that she was the one for him. But no, she didn't. She wanted to watch him suffer as he rejected her. _But he won't be rejecting me, because he never knew I was interested,_ she thought.

Aiden took a breath nervously, "Sophie, Katie reminded me that I had to make the choice, and I believe I have finally come to a conclusion."

Sophie felt a twinge of confusion. _From what I read, it doesn't sound like there's much debate to be held, _she thought.

"After talking it over with Katie, she helped me realize what really needed to be done."

_Your journal was a lie? There's hope! Oh, Aiden, you can see it now! You can see that I really care for you!_

"We've decided to paint my room purple."

"What?" Sophie was completely taken aback.

Aiden laughed, the serious expression on his face melting into one of pure joy, "I'm kidding! Sophie, I'm so excited! I asked Katie out and she said yes! Aren't you so happy? I've got a girlfriend!"

_God, Aiden, how many times are you going to break my heart! _Sophie threw the journal at him and shouted, "I know, Aiden! I don't care, either." Sophie gasped. She didn't mean to say that.

Aiden looked at her with hurt eyes, "You read my journal."

Sophie couldn't speak; sobs were wracking her body so violently.

"So can you tell me why you kissed me, then?" Aiden asked impartially.

Sophie stood and looked at Aiden with defiant, though wet, eyes and declared, "Because I loved you."

Aiden was dumbfounded.

Sophie ran out of the room, slamming the door as she went. She jogged down the hall and down the stairs as she wiped her eyes. Looking around, she saw Katie and Marilyn chatting amiably with one another. Sophie approached as they looked up. "Excuse me," she said. "It's time to go."

Katie said her good-byes to Marilyn as Sophie began walking to the front door. The girls pulled on their shoes, said thank you to Marilyn for her hospitality, and walked to the car. Sophie turned her head to look up at Aiden's window, but all she saw were the red curtains.

Katie and Sophie got in the car and they drove away. Katie messed with her CD player until 'All I Ask of You (Reprise)' came on. Sophie listened to Gerard Butler's voice silently. She preferred Michael Crawford. As the girls got on the highway, the Phantom sang, "He was bound to love you when he heard you sing."

Sophie's heart sank once more. _Rub it in, why don't you_, she thought. Then Sophie raised her head and stared out the window, watching Aiden's house and all of her dreams fade into the distance.

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**Wow, that was totally cliche... Anyway, that's the end of my story! I've always wanted to write a story in which the protagonist doesn't come out on top (as if that were novelty). But I have a surprise for you guys! It's a wonderful thing called an epilogue! So come back tomorrow!**


	21. Epilogue 1: The Phonecall

**Ok, since I can't establish stanzas, just know that every four lines is one verse.

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**

"Thought you would know

How it feels to be alone

But it seems you only care

For your own loneliness

Thought you could show

What it's like to love another

But you only saw yourself

And now I have no one to seek for guidance

Thought you would know

What it's like to walk a lonely path

That we could somehow meet halfway

See how similar our stories are

Thought you could love

Someone else who shared your pain

But instead you blew your life

On impossible dreams and goals

Thought we could share

One lifetime of misery

And change it to a glorious one

Of you and me together

Thought you could change

And embrace someone like you

But the shunned shut out the world

As the world denied them too

Thought you could see

How good you'd be for me

And I'd be there for you

As lovers do

Thought you could forgive me

For the distance we're apart

The years and miles alike

Our love would have no boundaries

Thought I could reach through to you

And change your world forever

But I guess I came too late

So turn around and face your fate,"

Sophie sang as she strummed her guitar loudly. It had been three weeks since Aiden and Katie had started going out. Katie still called her to chat like everything was normal. Neither of them talked about Aiden to each other. Sophie had written this song as she was finally beginning to get over him.

Sophie set her guitar down, wondering what to do next. Just then, the phone rang. Sophie leaned over to pick up the one on her desk, "Hello?"

"Sophie? It's Aiden," said the raspy voice.

Sophie froze. She heard Aiden sniff in the background. "I got your number from Katie," he explained to the silence that met him.

Sophie collected her bearings, "Hi Aiden, how are you?" she asked timidly.

Aiden sighed, white noise filling Sophie's ear. "Not good at all. Katie and I just broke up."

Sophie was confused as well as sad. Why was Aiden telling her this? _Poor Aiden, he must be so crushed!_ She thought. "I'm sorry to hear that, Aiden," she replied, keeping her tone a polite monotone. "May I ask why?"

"She just wasn't the girl I thought she was. I guess I got the wrong first impression," Aiden answered, voice quavering on the verge of tears.

"That's terrible. How's she taking it?"

"I don't think she cares very much," Aiden's voice broke, and Sophie heard a muffled sob. "I'm pretty bummed out about it."

_From what I hear, that's an understatement, _Sophie replied in her head. Out loud, she said, "Well, you know how the song goes, 'the first cut is the deepest.'"

Aiden sighed a shaky sigh, "I hope that's right. I _never_ want to feel like this again," he said fervently.

"I wish there was some way I could make it better," Sophie replied. "Don't be too upset, Katie's just one girl. She's not the best thing in the world."

"She sure seemed like it, though." After a pause, Aiden continued, "Listen, I want to apologize for upsetting you the last time we spoke, but you must understand how I felt."

"You didn't quite understand how I felt, either, Aiden." Sophie carefully spoke in past tense.

"I'm sorry I asked you what I asked. It wasn't the right time for it. But for you to rub it in my face and say that…" Aiden stopped, and Sophie heard him cough.

She was reminded of a few lines from Frank Sinatra. In her mind, she heard 'Strangers in the Night' and a line which she wasn't sure if it even came from that same song that went, "And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like 'I love you.'" _Wow, _Sophie thought. _There's a song for everything I've ever said, felt, or done. _"When I told you I loved you?" Sophie asked, confused about all of the pronoun usage of what Aiden had just said.

Aiden inhaled sharply. "Yes, that's what I was talking about. You knew I had just asked Katie out, why'd you joke around with something like that?"

Sophie sighed, _Boys are so clueless sometimes._ "I wish I could see your face right now. You're so cute when you're confused!"

Aiden wasn't amused. "Care to enlighten me?" he asked tersely.

Sophie tried to keep her tone light as she replied, "Aiden, I've never lied to you. I kissed you because I loved you! Katie had already made her move, so I had to make mine. I guess I was too subtle for you to notice. Unlike Katie, I'd like to be friends with a guy before I go around making out with him. But you never saw that I was the one who really cared for you. You broke my heart that day you asked Katie out." Now Sophie was the one on the verge of tears.

Aiden didn't respond for a few moments. Sophie was close to hysterical. She tore her heart open for Aiden again, and he won't even say anything?

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**Aaah! Cliffhanger! Who said epilogues had to be one chapter long? spazzes in anticipation Just you wait! Review!**


	22. Epilogues 2&3: Cheese and Fluff

Aiden finally responded, "So will you go out with me?"

Sophie was shocked; go out with Aiden? "What?" she stammered.

"Sophie, I don't know how I could have ever been so blind. Please?"

"Aiden, you broke my heart. You couldn't see who really cared for you. You lost your chance. Oh Aiden! Why did you have to do it?" Sophie cried.

"Give me a second chance, Sophie! Let me prove myself to you!"

"You wouldn't let me prove myself; you had your mind made up from the start!"

"Sophie, you said you wished you could make it better, and now you can. Just let me take you out to dinner or something."

"Aiden, what you're doing is called rebounding," Sophie said in a firm tone. "You're still hurting about Katie. You can't just try one of us out and then decide that you want the other one instead."

"Give me another chance, Sophie! I… I think I love you!" Aiden's voice was full of repentance.

"If you say that, you'll just end up with a broken heart like me."

"Sophie… Sophie," Aiden's voice was persuasive. "This isn't the Sophie I know. The Sophie I know is compassionate and forgiving. You're not supposed to be the one with multiple personalities!"

"Give it up, Aiden," Sophie said in a warning voice.

"If you loved me, you'll go out with me," Aiden tried a different tactic.

"I don't love you anymore. I don't know what to think of you! This pestering isn't helping your cause very much!"

"I repent! I repent! I'm begging you, Sophie… Tell me what to do so you'll say yes!" Aiden pleaded.

"There's nothing you can do, Aiden. No is no. Let it go."

"Sophie, please. Just out to dinner! No strings attached! I need to see you again, Sophie! Be near you. How many love songs do I need to write?" Aiden stopped, covering his sob with a cough. "You were in my position, Sophie. You know what it's like. Please!"

Sophie couldn't believe how pathetic Aiden was sounding. And she used to love him? Sophie was amazed at herself. "Good-bye, Aiden."

She hung up without waiting for a reply. _It's over now,_ Sophie thought. _Aiden's gone._

888888 **Epilogue Chapter Three that was going to be its own chapter but it was too short, so it was combined **888888

But it wasn't over. Over the next week, Sophie was surrounded by a cloud of depression for her actions. She doubted herself, wondering what would have happened if she had said yes to Aiden's pleas and went out with him. She should've given him a chance, she realized. But now it was too late, and Aiden was gone forever. She didn't exactly want to face him again, either. How did she know he wouldn't just break her heart again? It could go on forever. No, Sophie needed to get over him.

Sophie grabbed her car keys and fled out the door, jumping in her car and speeding off without any warning. She drove on.

When she reached her destination, she got out of her car and jogged up the trail to the oak tree. She remembered the land marks and had no trouble finding it, even once she left the trail. Once it was in view, she slowed to a walk.

Sophie thought about everything that had happened to her last time she was here. _This is where this adventure started; this is where it is going to end. I'm not leaving until I'm over him, _Sophie declared in her mind. Idly, she whistled the tune of 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.'

When Sophie was within about ten feet of the tree, she stopped. She heard a rustling from above. Then, "Wandering child, so lost, so helpless, yearning for my guidance."

It was Aiden, singing from in the tree.

Sophie uttered his name as he appeared, jumping down from his hiding spot. "How did you find me?" she asked.

Aiden smiled mischievously, "I am wherever you are."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, "You really do remind me of Erik sometimes."

"That's because I was quoting him," Aiden replied as he approached her.

Sophie didn't know what to do. She didn't know how she felt about Aiden. So she just stood there as he began singing again.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Lead me, save me from my solitude," Aiden was now right in front of her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, "Say you want me with you here, beside you." Aiden looked straight into Sophie's eyes, his loving eyes pleading her.

_Aiden can be pretty cheesy sometimes, _Sophie thought to herself, but she had made up her mind about him all the same.

"Anywhere you go, let me go to! Sophie, that's all I ask of-"

And Sophie silenced him with a kiss.

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**Hooray! It's over now! No more epilogues! And just look at how much more cheesy this ending is than chapter 20! Yup, nothing like a good piece of fluff to wrap up a story of angst and hopeless causes. So thanks so all who suffered through to the end! I sound too happy that it's over. Maybe I should add in some sniffles to this A/N. Actually, nevermind.** **It doesn't really matter that much anyway. Thanks again, my darling readers! PM me or review if you want to chat! Or discuss something. Just don't blackmail me, please. Because hey, you never needed those pitchforks, now, did you? Unless you actually wanted Katie to end up with Aiden. In which case, cool! A nonconformist! Review anyway!**  



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